Thailand’s soft serve ice cream market is witnessing aggressive competition between old and new players as well as major retail brands vying for a bigger pie of the lucrative segment.
In recent years, major retailers like CP and Central have invested more on finding good prime sites to compete against established brands like Dairy Queen and Mixue, as Thai consumers are more prone to impulse purchases of soft serve ice cream and beverages amidst an increasingly hot and humid climate in the country.
A report by Kasikorn Research Centre estimated the overall beverage shop market which includes bakeries and ice cream outlets to reach approximately Bt 85.32 billion (US$2.62 billion) in 2025. This represents an estimated growth of 3.2% compared to 2024. The growth is driven by continued expansion from both large and small operators, as well as the increasing presence of international beverage franchises. Over the past 2–3 years, new brands have also entered the soft serve ice cream segment, with particularly strong entries from China led by Mixue in 2022. Mixue has targeted growth in community-based locations across the country, offering a mix of beverages and soft serve ice cream at budget-friendly prices.
Following Mixue’s lead, other Chinese brands have also entered Thailand and soft serve ice cream has started to make a stronger impact in the country. Soft serve ice cream started long ago not by these Chinese brands but by US-based Dairy Queen in 1996. Till now, Dairy Queen is still the market leader with more than 500 outlets nationwide, serving its flagship vanilla and chocolate flavors. It has also adapted by launching seasonal flavors like soybean milk and other flavors, catering to the health conscious.
Meanwhile, major QSR brands like McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King have also expanded into the soft serve ice cream segment launching their own affordably priced versions with vanilla being the classic flavor apart from other seasonal variations at prices ranging from Bt12 to Bt20 (US$0.37-US$0.61).
Next come the new retailers like CP Axtra, Tops, IKEA and CJ expanding into this segment with their own brands to take advantage of the lucrative market. As an example, CP Axtra Public Co. Ltd which operates Makro and Lotus had launched its own soft serve ice cream brand in collaboration with CP-Meiji in late 2024. It already opens more than 50 small-format stores within Makro and Lotus locations selling ‘cheapest’ soft serve ice cream at only Bt 8 (US$0.25). IKEA, on the other hand, introduced a soy-based soft serve ice cream as a more health-conscious alternative. These retail giants are able to take advantage of their vast store network and strategic locations to expand their customer base which also include their own loyalty program members.
As a result, Thailand’s soft serve ice cream segment has become extremely competitive with low pricing, strategic locations and innovative flavors being the winning bullets in this battlefield. Soft serve ice cream has become a leading choice of refreshment for many Thais amidst the summer weather, however only those who are adaptable and cost-efficient could survive long in this market.
